Canadiens News

Game Preview: Canadiens vs Avalanche

The Habs receive a visit from Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

The Avalanche will be without the services of captain Gabriel Landeskog, who was recently suspended for two games for his hit to the head of Boston Bruins’ forward Brad Marchand on Thursday. The young Swede has registered five goals and seven assists this season, good for the third most points scored by any member of the Avalanche.

In their last contest, the Avalanche completed a comeback victory over the Boston Bruins after erasing a two-goal deficit in the first period, with Matt Duchene scoring the game-winning-goal in the third period. It was the second straight win for the Avalanche, who have won just two of their previous ten games.

In the Canadiens’ camp, Alexander Semin will make his return to the lineup in place of Paul Byron after sitting out the last seven games as a healthy scratch.

At practice in Brossard Friday morning, Semin skated alongside Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller, as coach Michel Therrien reunited the trio that showed good chemistry at the beginning of the season. The Russian sniper has a goal and two assists in 10 games with the Canadiens this season.

Greg Pateryn will also make his 2015-16 debut with the Habs on Saturday, replacing Alexei Emelin, who is out with a lower-body injury.

On Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, Condon allowed three goals for the first time in his career in 65-minutes of action against the Penguins, before surrendering two goals in the shootout that followed.

A silver lining in Wednesday night’s defeat, the Canadiens scored a power play goal for the seventh consecutive contest.

Last season, Michel Therrien’s troops had the upper hand over Patrick Roy and the Avalanche, winning both clashes against Colorado.